Severe storms injure several people, damage dozens of buildings in Troup County

A line of severe storms that tore through west Georgia Sunday morning resulted in several injuries and dozens of damaged buildings in Troup County.

Two tigers held at Pine Mountain Animal Safari escaped during the storm and were later recaptured, according to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, which estimates two-to-three injures and 80-100 damaged buildings. Twenty to 30 of those buildings were severely damaged or destroyed.

Officials indicated most of the damage is around the West Point city limits heading east toward Meriwether County. The sheriff’s office has asked people to avoid that area to allow first responders to work.

West Point Road between Webb Road and the city limits West Point is closed to traffic at this time.

There is a temporary shelter for people impacted by the storms at the West Point Parks and Rec/Point University gym off of Highway 29 in West Point (1106 Ave D). The Red Cross is en route to provide support.

According to the National Weather Service’s Peachtree City office, radar indicates that a tornado hit Troup County, but it will take survey teams a few days to confirm it.

Georgia Power is reporting a handful of outages impacting about 75 people. Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a state of emergency for areas impact by the storms.